Sterile medicament insufflator cartridge and insufflator



' Au 22, 1950 M. R. FIELDS STERILE MEDICAMENT INSUFFLATOR CARTRIDGE AND INSUFFLATOR Filed Aug. 51, 1945 ac/f W as Patented Aug. 22, 1950 STERILE MEDICAMENT INSUFFLATOR CARTRIDGE AND INSUFFLATOR Mack R. Fields Chicago, 111., assignor to Abbott r ofIllinois" A This invention relatesto a device for frosting;an exposed, incised, or other surface with medicament; that is to say, a device for laying down a deposit of a medicament on-a surface, usually for inhibiting the growth or spread of micro-organisms, bacteria, germs, and the like. ,sThe device herein illustrated is designed primarilyfor the frosting. of cavities remaining in th? gums atter extraction of teeth but it will be apparent that the device may be employed for other medicament applying purposes.

. One of the important objects ofthe invention ;is to provide a convenient and practical means for facilitating the application of medicaments' gin sterile condition, and especially to provide means whereby penicillin, which may be produced in sterile form but which may not be' subjected-to known sterilizing processes, may be applied in sterile form and understerile conditions; w 1

Other objects of the invention are to provide .a s imple insufilating device and a cartridge therefor which may bea single use cartridge; to provide an insufllator and cartridge which may be readily assembled and disassembled; to pro-, videa cartridge which may be .produced in sterile condition and delivered to the dentist or other .user in such sterile condition so as to be immediately ready for use without preliminary steriljzation or other treatment by the user; to provide a method for producing a sterile cartridge .containing a penicillin preparation in sterile ,form; and other objects andadvantages of the invention will be understood by reference to the 1 following specification and accompanying drawmg.

In the drawing, f Fig. 1 is a section through an assembled insuf- "flator and cartridge embodying-a selected form of the invention, and,

Fig. 2 is a perspective illustrating the sterile cartridge. The insufliator shown in the drawing comprises a rubber or similar compressible resilient bulb I which constitutes a source ofcompressed air when the bulb is collapsed under manual pressure. A compressed air conduit 2 has a nipple portion 3 suitably seated and gripped in the outlet end portion 4 of the bulb, said conduit having at its other end a hollow or hypodermic needleextension 5. A collar Sisalso provided in surrounding relation to the needle 5, preferably concentric therewith. Said collar 8 is adapted to position a cartridge 1 in such position that the .needle'i'may-penetrate an end of. the cartridge Laboratories, North Chicago, Ill., a corporation ApplicationAugust 31, 1945, Serial No. 613,73

2 Claims. (Cl. 128-266) prepared for that purpose as will :presently be explained. The collar 6 accordingly preferably extends somewhat beyond the sharpened end of the needle as shown.

passed to reach the inside of the cartridge.

The free end of the bulb I is equipped with an opening 8 which may be suitably valved to permit air to enter the bulb while preventing air from escaping from the bulb, but said opening is preferably left unvalved as shown.

The cartridge I comprises a length of cylindrical glass tubing having. a discharge end 8 tapered to a reduced diameter and preferably curved approximately as illustrated. The other end of the cartridge tube is adapted to be closed by a rubber or similar stopper 9 having a flange H1 designed to limit the extent to which the stopper may be inserted in the tube. The stopper may also have its inner end recessed as indicated at H so as to reduce the thickness of the stopper through which the needle *5 must be It will be evident from an inspection of Fig. 1 that the collar 6 of the insufllator effectively positions the cartridge relative to the needle 5 so that the needle will be caused to penetrate the reduced thickness portion of the stopper.

The frictional gripping effect of the rubber stopper -9 on the needle 5 is suflicient to hold the cartridge 1 in assembled relation to the insufflator and the collar -6 is accordingly preferably made a free fit around the cartridge 1. While the fit of the cartridge is here characterized as a free fit in the collar 6, it is nevertheless preferably such that the collar will also help to prevent objectionable wobbling of the cartridge on the end of the insufflator so that the doctor or other user of the device should have no diiiiculty in holding the discharge end of the cartridge in the desired location. It may also be observed that while the cartridge may readily be rotated to any position desired on the needle 5, the frictional gripping effect of the stopper on the needle normally prevents such rotation. The discharge end 8 of the cartridge is initially closed in any suitable manner. In this instance, a cap I2 is shown fitting snugly over the discharge end portion of the cartridge. Said cap I2 may conveniently and practicably be formed from a length of tubing of any suitable material, such as synthetic rubber composition, and other materials which may be sterilized without deterioration by the same processes employed for sterilizing the glass tube of the car tridge I; such material is flexible and somewhat elastic ,so that it may be slightly stretched when applied to the discharge end 8 of the cartridge so as to be thereby effectively retained by fric tion; and it is sealable by the application of pressure or heat or both so that an end portion of a length of such tubular material may be closed to form a sealed end I3 of the cap as shown. Several materials of the. character indicated are commercially available. They are generally of the vinyl-resin classification.

As indicated, the cap I2 is formed from a length of tubing of the selected material which is slightly less in internal diameter than the external diameter of the discharge end portion of the cartridge tube. Hence", when the-capis applied it will be slightly stretched and causedto efiectively grip the tube so as to retain itself in place until removed by the positive action of the user.

An insufllator cartridge of the character described is desirably charged with a mixture of certain sulpha powders and penicillin powder for use by dentists and'others. The cartridgeshould, of course, be in sterile condition when the dentist or other doctor places it in use. The'parts ofthe cartridge and sulpha powders, such as are employed may be easily sterilized but the penicillin maynot'be practicably sterilized by any known method; In order to provide a sterile cartridge, the glass cartridge tube'with the cap 1-2 thereon and the rubber stopper separated from the cartridge and the sulpha powders may be subjected to conventional sterilizing processes.

The penicillin is produced in sterile form-and is handled under sterile conditions and added to the sterilized sulpha powders to produce the desired formula. The sterilecartridge tube closed by the cap I2 is then filled with the desired amount of the mixed powders and the stopper 9 applied, these operations being effected under sterile conditions so as to maintain the sterility of all parts. Under these conditions, at least the interior of the cartridge tube and its content together with the interior surfaces of the stopper 9 and cap [2 will remain sterile even though the cartridge is handled and the sterility of its exterior surfaces impaired. However, the exterior surface of the discharge end portion 8 of the cartridge will be maintained sterile by the cap [2 so that when the cap is removed a sufiicient length of the discharge end portion of the cartridge remains sterile on its outer surface so as to avoid any danger of contamination of the cavity or incision into which the discharge end portion 8- is projected.

To eject the medicament from the cartridge, the doctor grips the insufilator bulb in such a manner that his thumb may conveniently close the opening 8 in the bulb. whereupon the bulb is collapsed or compressed .to deliver a charge of compressed air into the cartridge through the needle 5, such compressed air serving to pick up and carry with it out through the discharge end ofthe cartridge a load of the powdered medicament contained in the cartridge; Upon releasing the thumb from the endof the bulbt, the opening is uncovered and air permitted to enter the bulb whereupon its normal resiliency will reexpand it to its initial condition. The freedom with which air may enter-the unvalved opening facilitates expansion of the bulb without sucking air'reversely into the cartridge through its discharge end. Thus'repeated blastsof'the medicament from the cartridge may be employed with.- out danger of seriously impairing the sterility of the medicamentremainingin the cartridge.

While a valve may be provided in the opening 8 as already explained, it is preferred that such valve be omitted since the unvalved opening permits a freer entrance of air into the bulb as already mentioned. Also, it often occurs that valves of the character employed in bulbs of this type become gummed' up from one cause :or another thereby interfering with its free action which would further impair the satisfactory operation of the described insufllator.

Changes may be made without departing from the invention as typified by the described structure.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for insufllating medicinal powder comprising the combination of a resilient material bulb-having air inlet and outlet openings, a fitting having a body portion and nipple and collar portions respectively extending in opposite directions from said body portion, said nipple portion being seated in said outlet opening of said bulb-whereby said fitting is attached to said bulb, a hollow needle rigid with said-'bo'dy, com municating with the insideof said 'bulb through said nipple and extending within said collar in the same direction'from said body as said collar, and a medicinal powder'cartri'dge adapted 'tobe detachably connected to saidbulb through the agency of said fitting, said cartridge comprising a chamber section having a'base portion'of outside diameter fitting telescopically insideof said collar so aS'to be thereby positioned and supported, and a nozzle section integral with-and extending from said chamber section and tapering from the latter to a reduced diameter outlet end portion, a closure plug in said base portion, said plug being of resilient, compressible material which is puncturable by said needle and of a thickness which is less than the length ofsai'd needle so as to be adapted to be completely penetrated bysaid needle as an incident to the telescoping of the cartridge into said collar,'thereby to establish communication between said bulb-and the interior of said cartridge through said needle, and a cap removably seated on and enclosing the outlet end portion of said nozzle section of the cartridge.

2. Apparatus for insufflating medicinal powder comprising the combination of aresilient material bulb having air inlet and outlet openings, a fitting having a body portion and nipple and-collar portions respectively extending inopposite directions from said body portion, said nipple portion being seated in said outlet open'inggof said bulb whereby said fitting isattached to said bulb, a hollow needle rigid with said body, communicating with the inside of said bulb-through said nipple and extending'within said collar in the same direction from saidbody as said collar, and a medicinal powder cartridge adapted to be detachably-connected to said bulb through'the agency of said fitting, said cartridge comprising a chamber section having a base portion of out side diameter fitting telescopically inside'of sai'cl collar so as to be thereby positioned and supported, and a nozzle section integral with and extending from said chamber section and tapering from the latter to a reduced diameter outlet end portion, a closure plug in saidbase-portion, said plug being of resilient, compressible material which is puncturable by said needle and of a thickness which is less than the length of said'needle so as to-be' adapted'tobe' completely penetrated by saidneedle as an: incidentto the telescoping of the cartridge: intosaid -coll'ar,

. cartridge.

MACK R. FIELDS.

6 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Mattson June 26, 1883 Rose Feb. 14, 1922 Findley Sept. 29, 1931 Pittenger Oct. 10, 1939 Bolte et al. Jan. 12, 1943 

